It's All In Your Mind
by Blue Mistfall
Summary: <html><head></head>A Winged Doctor fic. After an unlucky escape from the future-time lab, the Doctor is stuck in Middle Ages without the TARDIS, but with a new "addition". Soon things begin to get out of time - literally. And it's only the beginning.</html>
1. It Started with a Low Light

**A/N: I don't know why, but I've sen very few Winged Doctor fics. So I thought to try myself here. And it's my first Twelfth Doctor fic as well, so... tell me what you think!**

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><p>At first Benna didn't know what to do when she saw one of the tombs' covers shaking. She would have called for help if it were not for two obvious reasons. Or, more likely, three.<p>

_She's absolutely dumb. Unable to learn anything._

It would be useless to call for help even at daytime - who would pay attention to an errand girl? Benna was to pay attention when being called for, not vice versa. So now she just had to sit in the corner of the basement, curled up with cold and fear. Though she had been told that "dead men don't bite", she feared them. And darkness, and being punished too.

Finally the tomb's cover moved to the side with a screech. Benna hugged her knees, hiding her face in them. She didn't know what was scarier: the creature from the world of the dead or her master's rage - if he finds out Benna's been here again. She had been whipped so hard, so hard the previous time...

The cover was moved off almost halfway. Oh no. If it falls down, there will be a rumble, and her master will murder her, they find it such fun...

But no. The cover stopped, and another thing fell - silence. Then, without a sound, a white hand showed itself from the tomb, clutched its edge and began flexing its fingers, like a spider preparing to attack. Some moments later a human figure - white above, black below - climbed from the tomb, groaned and half-fell onto the floor, clutching its sides. It lied there for a short time, then stood up and looked around, its eyes glowing in the dark.

Benna bit her cheeks from the inside not to howl with fear.

"Whom do we have here?" the ghoul asked, walking directly to her. "Do not be afraid, I will not do any harm".

That was not a voice of anyone from Hades. It wasn't hissing or howling or demanding, it was a calm human voice. And now Benna could see that the flesh of its owner wasn't rotten or infected - as solid as hers, though even visibly cold. And another thing: Benna's breath formed clouds over her nose and mouth, while this creature didn't have them, though it was breathing - it was heard and seen by its body's movements, but not in this way.

"What are you doing here?" the creature asked, having crouched next to her. "You're about to catch pneumonia... ah, forgot, what time is it?"

Benna's eyes were used to the dark, and its face with glowing eyes was close, so she could see it now - it was a face of an elderly man, with age wrinkles and short silver hair, but it seemed wrong here, as if a wrong head was stitched to the body, which was to be much stronger than it's required in this age. And now it was clear why it seemed so white: the man's torso was wrapped in blood-stained stripes of white cloth all over it, as if he was wearing an odd sleeveless tunic.

"Why are you not replying? It's not too polite, you know", the man went on. Benna touched her lips with the tip of her forefinger and moved it along them, indicating her inborn lack. "What? You cannot speak?" Benna shook her head. "Ah, I'm sorry... But I have to call you some way".

This was almost no trouble. Benna's mother had invented this way of showing her name a long time ago, hoping that it would come in handy some day. And today it did. She pointed at her brow, then at her ear, twice tapped on her nose and then at her ankle.

"Wait a bit..." The man frowned. "Brow, ear, nose, nose, ankle... Benna?"

The girl nodded.

"All right, Benna. I'm the Doctor. Let's get out of here".

Benna grabbed his arm, silently pleading him to stay with her look. Now it would be the most dangerous time to come out, as for her. Once she had been caught in the middle of the night, and the safest time was before dawn, when everybody left to work. After the nasty case with being caught, her only friend, Camellia, another maid, would close the basement doors whenever Benna decided to spend the night there, and sneakily open them in the morning.

"What? Are you afraid of the dark?"

Benna shook her head, pointoing at the door and showing that it was locked.

"Primitive technologies", the Doctor muttered. "And I don't have my sonic screwdriver with me... Guess I'll have to stay with you, Benna. Will you be let out, then?" The girl nodded. "All right... Hey, you're freezing".

He sat onto the stone floor (Benna had thought it was solid ground, but it was stone, with a huge layer of dirt - no one comes to visit dead men without a truly truly forceful reason) next to the girl and gave her a corny, but comfortable embrace. Benna gasped - not only because she wasn't used to this gesture, but also because the Doctor wasn't cold anymore. His body was getting warmer and warmer, until the girl felt as if sitting next to a fire which couldn't burn her.

"Better now?"

Benna nodded again, blinking at him.

"Don't worry. That's just me... Benna, how long have you been silent?"

The girl shrugged.

"Since birth? Let me look!"

The Doctor briskly raised her chin up, opened her mouth with two fingers (without any effort) and pulled her tongue so far, that Benna counged and wheezed.

"You have a throat of an opera singer, girl! Yeaaah... Little nitwit". Those two words were said in a whisper, the following - aloud. "Heard that?"

Benna chuckled.

"Okay, we have nothing much else to do... Can you call me by the name?"

**By the name? But "Doctor" isn't a proper name! It never was! **- sounded in Benna's head. The Doctor replied as if he knew what was going on in her head:

"Forget it, Benna. I'm the Doctor, and this is it. Come on, girl. I've heard a baby calling me by the name, and you're not a baby... though compared to me... How old are you? Twenty-six?"

Benna showed both hands with fingers sticking to the sides. She couldn't read or write, but she could count. And she knew her age.

"Still a youngling. Do it, girl".

Benna couldn't do much. But she tried.

"D... d-d-d... daaaaah..."

"You're not attempting hard enough".

"Do... whshrrrrr..." The last was a sound of air without direction coming out of Benna's mouth.

"Lazy bottom".

"Doctor!"

"Always works", the Doctor smirked. His way of smiling was creepy, like that of dead men who eternally show their teeth. "One more time, Benna".

"Doc... taaaaaaah..." Benna wasn't thinking the previous time, that should be it. And that warmth slowly made her sleepy. No tracks of fear, no tracks of waiting for the worst. Dead men don't bite. And dead men don't keep alive men warm...

* * *

><p>Benna was woken by the sound of people shouting outside. And not only that: there and here the yelps of horror were interrupted by short strikes, as if lightnings hit the ground. One, two, three... Or no, those strikes were more like the sounds of arrows sticking into trees, but much louder and scarier.<p>

The Doctor woke up as soon as she did, already full of energy - he bounced up, but a bit unluckily, so his strange white tunic got ripped. Benna heard a sound of cloth tearing.

"Ah, never mind it, Benna..." He walked to the exit and listened. "Uh-oh. Seems like a time twister in all senses..."

But it wasn't "time twister" or whatever strange things about which he was talking.

"Benna! Has it happened before?.. Benna!"

"Doctor", Benna said, staring at his wings.

Now they were seen from under twice ripped white cloth hanging down. Blood-stained there and here, like his clothing, not fully unfurled, silvery grey, darker than his hair, and scruffy, as if they needed to be cleaned. If feathers can be cleaned.

"Benna, you're not special. But you can become one if you help me. Do you want to stay a brain-pudding?"

Benna shook her head.

"I just knew it. Come here, youngling!"


	2. Next Thing I Knew

"HELLO!" the Doctor yelled, leaning on the basement door. "ANYBODY HEARS ME? THE SPECIMEN IS RIGHT HERE! Stop jerking me, Benna!"

Benna stared at him, silently pleading to stop shouting - before this she had been trying to pull him away from the doors.

"You're dumb, but not deaf, eh? So if you have ears, listen to me. The pandemonium up there is because of me. I know this way of achieving aims. All they need here is me, and if they don't find me, they will ruin this castle to the ground until the last rock. Got it? So out of the way! If you want to help me, howl and bang for someone to let us out! Acoustics is horrible here, I suppose!"

Noise? He needs noise? All right, I'll give you noise! - Benna thought and surprised herself at the next moment, having grabbed hold of both Doctor's wings and pulled the as strongly as she could.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! YOU... CRAZY GIRL!"

Benna rolled into the corner, shrinking with realization of what she had done. Not better than those who laugh at others' pain.

"And I thought that operation was the worst!" the Doctor yelled, having forgotten about the door. "Congratulations, Benna! You found something worse!"

The chaos inside and outside was gone as soon as both realized that the basement doors were open and several pairs of eyes - some awed, some scared, some cold and determined - were watching them. A group of people with rifles surrounded the exit together with five or six maids, including Camellia.

"Nice dirty little trick, Benna", the Doctor noticed, his anger gone without a trace (though Benna couldn't decide which was creepier - his rage or that skull-like smile). "Making me scream in pain to attract everybody's attention... You don't seem to be such a brain-pudding now. Well, gentlemen?"

"You will go with us", the commander said without a shade of emotion. "And the child will".

"Yeah, it's clear about me, but what about Benna? She's a medieval misfit, and besides unable to speak. Why would you need her?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. But he replied by himself. "Ah. I understood. Tidying up after yourselves. Weeping Angels, but vice versa. Killing everybody who looks you in the eye... By the way, about them".

"Wait until he tries to escape. I don't want it to look like an execution".

The Doctor's mouth formed a wide "closed" smile, and his wings gave a small soft rustle.

"So you get it, boys. You do get it. I'm a rather precious specimen, and you don't want trouble with your boss. No one would like to get the glory of the species destroyer. Look at me, I killed the last dodo! But dodos couldn't do things... Things like this!"

Benna forgot something. Either it was a very long blink or a head hit, but she found herself hanging horisontally, with two white hands laced on her chest holding her and something like grey and brown carpet dashing underneath. Then there were shouts. And rocks, and something else chasing them. Something that whizzed by, like big angry bees.

Then there was a harsh landing - only by some wonder they didn't smash into the wall, having landed in a barn. Right in the middle of a pile of old hay.

"They do work", the Doctor said in fascination - he recovered much faster than Benna who needed time to get rid of dizziness - and traced along the edge of his right wing with a finger. "I did not see that coming... What do you think, Benna? The one-and-only flying Timelord!.. But we're not done yet".

Benna blinked.

"No, we're not. There is a way to hide from them. Somewhere around there is a time warp, I could get there and get to the point in time that I need... and they won't be able to do so, because they are merely humans, haha!"

"Doctor", Benna said, having crawled closer to him.

"What?.. You really ought to try something new, Benna... Oh no, no, don't tell me that you want to come with me!"

"Doctor!" Benna grabbed his arm, surprised at how tight it was. "Doctor!"

"Fine, fine. You got me. But don't blame me if something goes wrong!"

Benna didn't know what was going to take place. But she knew one thing: she didn't want to be alone again.

* * *

><p>The horrors were gone, including similar men with thundering sticks and bees which killed people with one bite. No one knew what the reason was, except those who are sure that all disasters come from people's sins. But somebody remembered that there had been a man. With wings! Naturally, not an angel - all angels were young and beautiful, and this hadn't been either. And there was a girl. Yes, yes, the dumb errand girl. But why she, then?<p>

And there was an orange thunderbolt in the sky before it all ended. Dark times were to begin.


	3. They Ripped Me From My Bed

Clara Oswald was enjoying a lovely dream when there was a bang, boom, and then the unmistakable noise of rubbish bins being knocked over and rolled down. She opened her right eye (for the left one didn't wish to open) and peeked at the alarm clock on the bed table. 03:02. Numbers.

Anybody else would have poured a bucket of cold water out - at least - but Clara was 90% sure that those were not any nightwalkers or cats. Okay, 95%. All right, 99,9%. Because you cannot have a minute of silence when you're a friend of the Doctor!

Surprisingly, there were no sounds of the TARDIS landing. Either it had materialized in the air and crashed, or he had finally pressed the brakes... Where do I know it from?.. - Clara thought to herself, having opened the window.

The telephone chirped, signaling about the incoming message.

"IMPOSSIBLE GIRL. DUCK. NOW".

She ducked right on time not to be rammed through by a bundle of dirty cloth, ripped bandages and feathers (wait, feathers?!) which rumbled into the flat through the window. Almost like a thread through a needle's eye. Yes, almost - the window's frame wasn't freshly cleaned anymore.

"That is why I like you - you have common sense".

Despite the usual half-mocking, half-serious tone, the Doctor didn't look this way at all. In fact, he was a horrible sight to see. Covered in dirt stains (obviously he had crashed in a junkyard behind the house), scratched and wounded here and there, and whiter than his usual "as white as milk" condition. But that wasn't the most radical change. It wasn't even about a girl of nine or ten clinging to him (her sight was as if she was a female counterpart of Tom from The Prince and the Pauper).

"Oh goodness..." Clara gasped upon the sight of silvery grey wings sprawled across the floor. So that's how he managed to get into all troubles in turn! "Is that... another regeneration?.."

"Be sensible, Clara!" No, it wasn't another regeneration - only this Doctor would have such freezing-through look. "Though you're a bit right. I could have two heads, or none at all... time influences things, evolving, revolving..."

It was clear that there would be no sense trying to ask him about anything, so Clara pulled him onto the couch (she still wanted to clean it, and the Doctor appeared to be not as heavy as his constitution promised). Meanwhile the girl was taking in all details about the room, but as soon as the mess was relatively settled down, she cautiously walked closer to Clara.

"And who might you be?" Clara asked. The girl rubbed her throat, her expression half-guilty, half-sad. "Why are you silent?.. You mean you cannot talk?.."

The girl shook her head.

"I'm sorry... But I have to address you in some way".

A quick smile and gesturing: the girl pointed at her brow, then at her ear, twice tapped on her nose and then at her ankle. Ye-es, the old-fashioned gesturing (judging by the view of this girl, she was born at least two or three hundred years ago) varied, but this was not common. Perhaps her own... Clara was quick to react, though at first it didn't hit the target completely:

"Eyebrow, ear, nose, ankle?" The girl frowned. "Eyebrow... brow?" A brisk nod. "Wait a second... Benna? Is that your name?" A wide beam with two or three gaps in it. Usual thing for such age. "My name's Clara".

Benna knitted her eyebrows together in concern and then pronounced in such a way as if she was chewing the word:

"C-Cl-Cl-Cla-rrrrrrraaaaah..."

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><p>Thank goodness I'm a teacher, Clara thought. One of good things about this profession is that you unwillingly become really patient - if not immediately, then after time. And here it came in handy. It was clear that she wouldn't sleep anymore tonight, and another thing was about this Benna, who was fascinated at the most everyday things. A good illustration for the "difference of generations".<p>

_I wonder what the life had been when there were no computer. I suppose it was horribly boring!_

_Yeah. Masquerades, revolutions, hunting, incredible hairstyles, serving in castles, working in fields, theatre going. Really boring!_

Clara chuckled at having recalled this dialogue she had heard at school - it swam out when Benna froze next to the turned-on electric kettle, which had glass base and therefore everything was seen.

"Now, Benna, I suppose you shouldn't touch anything here, because I don't want you to be hurt". That was odd. Usually kids knew more than she did if it was about gears and devices. Especially electronic. "In all, you need to get clean at least if you don't want to be an outcast here..."

Benna did her best at holding her curiosity, though she was eager to try something new. No doubt, it all seemed to be a kind of magic for her. At first she began playing with the water tap when Clara showed her how to turn the hot and cold water on, but the cocoa shower gel impressed her most of all in the bathroom, so Clara had to explain that it wasn't edible. Still, Benna poured almost half of the bottle into the bath tub and was stunned at the amount of bubbles.

"I wonder why there wasn't any TARDIS wooshing?.." Clara mused, while Benna was splashing in the tub. This made the youngling react:

"T-t-taaaaaah... dsssss... Tah-dsss..."

"What?"

"Doctor", Benna pronounced. No doubt, her first word. Old show-off, Clara thought with sarcasm. "Doctor... tah-dsssss..." So furious head shaking that lumps of foam went flying to the sides.

"Do you mean he has no TARDIS?"

"Doctor", Benna reminded, shrugging.

Perfect. No more sleeping for at least one night, Clara thought to herself.


	4. And Then They Took My Blood Type

**A/N: Almost all explanations... but the action's going to continue, I promise.**

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><p>The Doctor woke up after about two hours. It was still too early, so Clara decided to take an opportunity and listen to him until something else could have taken place.<p>

"Well, how d'you like my new limbs?" he asked, having come out of the bathroom. Of course, none of the old men's clothes found somewhere in the depth of Clara's wardrobe (there was a suspicion that he could open the door to another dimension right from there... thank goodness if Narnia and nothing scarier) were designed for this case, so he had ripped two holes on the back of a well-worn shirt.

Surprisingly, the Doctor hadn't turned the bathromm into a mess. It had been worse with Benna. At least three layers of skin had been scratched off her, and as about dirt... no, it's better not to recall such events.

"If you didn't regenerate again... then what took place?" Clara asked.

"A bit of interference", the Doctor replied, flopping onto the couch next to her and Benna (who was busy examining her new look - you know the difference between of what's seen and what's hidden after a long period of being not washed properly). "I guess those guys planted the beginning in me. You know, like seeds when it's about gardening. Then those seeds grew roots and... now these wings can't fall off me, because their bases got really entangled in muscles".

"Sounds horrible... but who could perform it?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"Don't really know, actually. They took my TARDIS as well..."

"Then how did you get here?"

"Through a time warp. Those kiddies work in time, searching for specimen. Taking the worlds not for power, but for experimenting. I know such type of bad guys... And I am a really curious specimen".

"Definitely".

"Managed to escape from them through a small crack. It took me to Middle Ages, where I found Benna... Can't understand what kind of name is yours, Benna!"

"Ben-na", she replied. And went on unexpectedly for herself: "Ben-na-dit".

"Benedict?" The Doctor's eyes glittered after a short pause. "Ah, I think I got it... A girl in the family is said to be a tragedy, and besides there were lots of diseases in Middle Ages because someone didn't know how to tidy things up, so you were named with a boy's name to be kept alive in both cases, am I right?"

Benna nodded. Now she was similar to an any up-to-date girl, except for her bewildered attitude and feeling uneasy in these clothes. She appeared to have thick ginger-blond hair (which had experienced scissors - in some places it had been so tangled that nothing apart cutting would have helped, so now it reached her shoulders) and freckles all over her cheeks and nose. Much better than dun locks and dull grey stripes on the face that had been there before.

"I don't get it, Benna. You didn't speak, but as soon as I appeared, you started to do it". The Doctor decided to change the talk's subject. "Did I influence you this way?"

"Doctor", Benna replied, beaming at him with mouth full of newly cleaned teeth. And Clara grinned:

"You influence everything. It's a part of you... Hey, wait. What did you say about time warps?"

"I got here through the same time warp that brought the experimenters to the escapee, aka me. But they didn't take to attention that, as a Timelord, I could try and find the way to other times or make the time itself obey my thoughts, like TARDIS telepathic circuit..."

"You're bluffing".

"I am. But I told you the truth about the time warps... All right". The Doctor bounced up. "Task: to find out who those brain-puddings are, to close all the time warps and to get rid of these..."

"And not to cause chaos again", Clara interfered. "You forgot that I've got a work to do. In some hours I should be at school".

"Why?"

"That's my job!"

"Sorry..."

"And I'll be truly pleased if you don't blow up everything in here or don't attract a bunch of paparazzi here! This refers to both of you!"

"Clara", the Doctor said in the most charming way, as far as it was possible for this groove, "do I look like the one ready to blow up the flat?"

All this time his wings were firmly pressed to the back, but at this moment they unfolded a bit, and two or three feathers fell onto the floor.

"A rhetorical question", Clara assumed.


	5. And Left a Strange Impression in My Head

Benna was twirling her head to each and every side, taking in all the wonders of XXI century. At first she couldn't stop caressing her shirt, adoring its smoothness, then she was glued to the window of the double-decker bus during the trip to Coal Hill, and eventually she grew a bit disappointed when Clara led her into the caretaker's place. She had to do it because the Doctor had vanished in his usual way, and she didn't want to find her flat in ruins. Of course, Benna had no evil intentions, but she had no idea about modern conveniences and their work principles, and the consequences of such attitude were well-known. Here she sould be closer and safer. At least Clara thought so.

"Stay here, Benna. No one is required to see you".

Benna stared at Clara in the most pleading way.

"Don't worry. I'll come back soon and take you home. You see, I'll feel safer if you're here".

"Doctor?" Benna asked.

"He prefers to solve questions alone. He'll find us if we need him... and vice versa. Remain quietly here, I'll gather you as soon as I can".

The small room was full of boxes, buckets and brooms, but Benna was unfamiliar with most of these, so as soon as she was left alone, she began walking around, studying the items. The signs and symbols on the boxes told her nothing, so Benna only opened them and looked at their contents (mainly bottles with cleaning mixtures), because she had already learned that not everything can be tasted (for instance, the shower gel smelled wonderfully, but Benna had been blowing bubbles after having swallowed almost a handful of it behind Clara's back, and it had tasted disgustingly). The brooms made her fascinated, so she "played witch" for a while, riding it around, but soon grew bored of it. Witches and warlocks used different things to fly - now she knew it.

A square of space in the middle of the room was empty and cleaner than the rest, as if something had stood there. Benna immediately occupied the center of this square, like a cat who always sits in the middle of a circle. And besides, here there was an impression that invisible walls guarded her from the outside, beginning at the border between cleaner and dirtier patches.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Benna jumped up upon the sudden chiming. Or no, ticking. Or no... What was that? She thought that she heard a bell tolling, but this impression was quickly gone.

* * *

><p>Lock wasn't sleeping. He was used to cold and smell and everything, as any child here, but still he couldn't sleep. Sometimes he stayed wide awake for half of the night, listening. The night was another world, and now, when there were wizards who flew metal birds and had sticks that threw lightnings, it became even more dangerous. His parents were away now, working at another village, and he was alone. Sometimes his grandmother helped him, but she didn't live in this house.<p>

This time Lock heard something truly close, as if this voice was whispering into his ear. It was just behind the wall.

"Energy for time cracks... no more such trips... closing this one... too many points... time stopping..."

Sounded like spells. Such word combinations didn't even exist.

Then there was a screech, which meant that the wizards arrived. Lock curled up on his bed. He didn't want to be struck by one of those lightnings which do not know what missing is.

Then there was a noise in the chimney, as if something or somebody was trying to get through it, but got stuck. Scrap, scrap, scrap... Some more (endless) seconds of silence, and then there was a rumble, a shout, and a figure all covered in soot fell out of the fireplace, having raised a cloud of coal dust.

"Head first! Let's see... seems solid".

The creature stood up, and Lock's eyes widened - it appeared to be a man. With wings! Their color, though, wasn't white, but silvery grey - it was seen when theiy got unfurled - but their owner's eyes were blue. Weren't angels' eyes blue?

"Whom do we have here?" the winged man asked in a deep voice, eying the kid. "What's your name, then?"

"Lock".

"Lock? Lock, stock and barrel?"

"It's short from Sherlock".

The man's dirty face gained a curious expression.

"Sherlock? This name is going to be famous soon. Two or three hundred of years aren't time, eh?"

"Are you an angel?" Lock didn't know why he asked it. Angels were much younger. And they didn't get into houses through chimneys. And they didn't speak strange language... though probably it was some divine one.

"What? Is everybody obsessed with answering with questions?" the winged man groaned. "I'm not. I'm the Doctor. And you haven't seen me".

"I have".

The Doctor sighed.

"Listen, kid... Lock... be obedient to your name and keep your mouth locked. No one should ever know that I was here. No one and never".

"Why?"

"Do you fear me?"

"No".

"Then you will do what I ask, eh?"

Lock, left without any opportunities to get out of this half-argument, nodded. The Doctor grinned.

"And now, kid, I'll tell you a secret. Do you know why you have that dimple under your nose?"

The boy shook his head. The Doctor grinned ever wider:

"It's for keeping secrets. Like this". He pressed his forefinger to Lock's lips so its tip was fitting the dimple perfectly, having left a black stripe across them. "Now you will never tell anybody that you met me".

The Doctor walked up to the window, waited for two or three seconds and dashed outside. For a second or two there was a sound of wings flapping, but then it was gone as well.

"Bomm. Bomm. Bomm. Bomm", Lock muttered.

* * *

><p>"It's going to be a bomb".<p>

The opened Word file was titled THE FLYING RIDDLE. Not the best title, but there was time to think of better one.


	6. You Know that I Was Hoping

"Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock".

"Who's there?"

Benna wasn't realizing that she was rocking from side to side like an upside-down pendulum, sitting on a box full of something heavy and rumbly, before there was a call from the outside. Moreover, she only then got that she was repeating the clock's noise even though she had heard it only once. She quickly huddled in a corner, hoping that no one would see her from the small window in the door.

"Come out! Who's there?"

Oh no. Oh no, oh no. How many times had she been hiding? This was the first time when she failed with a bang.

Silence. Then there was a click of the key in a keyhole, and the door smoothly opened.

"Hello?"

Benna bit her cheeks from the inside not to howl - she had never been so terrified. Previous hiding had been a usual thing. And now, in this new world...

However, the intruder didn't seem hostile. It was a man - older than Clara, perhaps (Benna was used to people whose age was clear at sight, and here those men could be much older than they looked - like the Doctor) - with dark hair which was just a tad bit curly, quite small blue eyes and prominent chin. Unlike most of the people which Benna had seen along the way, he was dressed mostly in dark grey, apart from a small red bow on his neck.

"There you are", the man said, having caught the sight of Benna. "I've never seen you here. Why did you create this havoc? It was heard till the third floor!"

Benna shook her head, indicating that she hadn't created any "havoc", whatever that meant. Imitating the clock against her will - yes, but she firmly knew there had been no "havoc" which could be heard so far.

"What are you doing here?"

"Tick tock", Benna said all of a sudden and grabbed her throat - it was as if her tongue worked by itself. "Tick tock... Cl... Cla-rrrrrraaaaaaaah..." The latest was pressed out with usual tension.

* * *

><p>Clara knew that leaving Benna in the caretaker's place wasn't the best idea of all, but she expected that the girl would stay there without attracting anybody's attention. But, as it always happens, things went wrong after the noon.<p>

"Clara!"

"Adrian? What's up?" Clara asked, having seen her mate following her. She wasn't afraid to be heard. School breaks are time when no one hears you because of noise and rush. Though it wasn't comparable with noise and rush that had taken place during the third lesson.

"There's a girl in the caretaker's place", Adrian explained. "She asked me to find you... well, at least I think so..."

"Me? Why me?"

"She doesn't speak, apart from saying 'tick tock' and your name. Seems like she cannot speak at all", Adrian went on.

"Where's she now?"

The answer was immediate - Benna, who had been stuck among the students (who paid no attention to her), finally caught up with them. Losing no time, she started gesturing and humming, obviously telling a story and not caring that neither Clara nor Adrian understood her.

"Just tell me: did you see anything... peculiar?" Clara asked when the "codetale" was over.

Benna shook her head and responded with the phrase containing her new favourite word (damn):

"Doctor? Tick tock Doctor?"

And how am I going to reply?.. - Clara thought, searching for a fine excuse about this all. But that appeared to be the flowers, and the fruits were about to come.

* * *

><p>"You just look at that!"<p>

The Doctor was used to all kinds of reactions. Slapping, yelling, tossing items... and this was the last type: as soon as he got into Clara's flat through the open window, a folded newspaper smacked him in the face.

"For what?! I haven't done anything wrong! Yet..."

"Tell me you had nothing in common with the rumble in my school!"

"It was you who decided to take Benna there!" the Doctor sniffed, dangling his legs - now he was sitting on the windowsill.

"You haven't listened yet. First, Benna claims she's innocent, and think by yourself: is it possible to create a noise that is head in all of school while being at the same place all the time?"

"Well, kids at all times are really noisy..."

"Doctor!" Benna snapped. "N-nmee!"

"And that's the point, really. Do you know what kind of noise it was?"

"How should I know if you haven't told me yet?"

"Chiming. Like in clock museums. They set different time on each clock, because if they all chime at the same time, it will be utter cacophony. At that was it. No clocks at school chime!"

"Tick tock. Tick tock", Benna approved.

"And that's not all. Look".

The Doctor unfolded the newspaper and saw huge letters at the very first page: THE FLYING RIDDLE. Just over the photo - a darkened silhouette at the sky background.

"You know, they can fake anything nowadays..."

"JUST READ IT!"

The article went on as follows:

_What is this creature that had recently appeared in (or, so to say, over) the London streets? Those who saw it claim that this may be either a UFO or a winged mutant of any kind. The amateur photographers had already taken several photos of this creature, but none of them can show the details. _Some more hypotheses and legends, after which the last paragraph concluded: _Who will solve the flying riddle of London?_

"I hope you're satisfied. Where have you been all this time? Just soaring around?" Clara demanded.

"Clara, relax. You know, I'm wanted in about eighteen galaxies, and if there was a total sentence for me, I'd spent two billion of years imprisoned, so that's a trifle. Besides, none of them saw my face. And even if they catch me, the main is not to let the time cracks widen. And... Benna, stop repeating the same word. Try some more new".

"Doctor", Benna said, doubtlessly to make him mad.


	7. That I Could Leave

"Say anything you want, but I need to explore the area. Time cracks are much more dangerous than flying riddles". The Doctor crossed his arms, brows forming a single line. "Do you know what can happen if you touch the not-fed time crack?"

"You stayed unharmed", Clara parried.

"Yes, because I know how to treat them. If you are touched by pure time energy, you will be wiped out of history. It's worse than death. No one will ever remember that you existed. No one, apart from those whose perception is changed".

"Time travellers".

"Yes. And not all of them... it's complicated".

"Anyway, you're not going to fly out of my flat and hover around like a led zeppelin!"

"Why?" The Doctor's expression was that of pure wonder. "Don't you remember a dinosaur in London? Or Big Ben being destroyed by a UFO? Who recalls about it now? It's safe".

"Safe?"

"I'll prove it to you".

* * *

><p>Benna was clinging to the Doctor for dear life - it included not only her hands and arms, but legs as well, though it wasn't easy in such position. It was the "proving". The Doctor had flown out of the window at daylight, having carelessly grabbed her. And that felt even scarier, because all Benna could see was the patch of his rumpled shirt: his arms were wrapped around her shoulders and back closer to her neck, so she couldn't turn her head much. In addition, her bottom half was almost hanging down, and that made her think that she could fall onto the ground any moment.<p>

And she really did.

But it occurred to her only when she was grabbed by her shirt in the middle of her "flight down" and then - after an unspecified amount of time again - put onto solid ground. Or solid concrete - now they both were on the roof of a skyscraper.

Benna's legs gave up immediately, and she flopped onto the surface: she was stunned by this flight. She was chewing on her bottom lip for some minutes and then laid her hand onto her chest.

"Oh, Benna! I caught you, you're alive and well, so what else do you want?"

"Hrrrrt".

"What?"

"Hrrrrrrt!" Benna snapped.

"Whatever do you mean? You're not hurt".

"H-rrrrr-t!" No matter how hard Benna tried, the blasted word wouldn't come out of her mouth correctly. She waited until her legs could carry her again, stood up and, having grabbed the Doctor's hand, pressed it to her chest. "Bmmm, bmmm, bmmm, bmmm!"

"Ah, Benna, and you call that scare? Watch out for it not to become your eternal fate!.." the Doctor snapped and unexpectedly turned around, having leaned down to look the girl into the eyes. "What did you say? I've got it about heart, but what next?"

"Bmmm, bmmm, bmmm, bmmm", Benna repeated, attempting to catch up with her heartbeat which wasn't going to slow down to its normal speed.

"Hold it, Benedict. Ticking and tocking at school, and now you repeat things four times... Four times..."

"Tick tock. Tick tock".

"I've already heard that!"

Benna flopped onto her bottom and rocked from side to side, imitating clock noise - this time she was understanding what she was doing. Then she jumped up and pointed at the direction in which she thought Coal Hill was. At least it was down there.

"Hold your horses", the Doctor asked, and Benna glanced around in confusion. "It's just an expression. It means 'wait'... Where did Clara leave you?"

Benna's hands flew up, drawing bottle shapes in the air. But it was only when she imitated a witch on a broom, the Doctor got it fully.

"Caretaker's chamber?"

Benna blinked.

"So that could mean... No, it couldn't. Need proofs... Let's get there and see".

One glance down was enough to make Benna rush to the Doctor and wrap her arms around his waist (for she couldn't reach higher).

"What? Offer another way, if you wish! I got you here, so you doubt I'll get you there?"

"Honk, honk".

"That's boring".

"Doctor!"

"Or I just need a refreshment. Climb onto my back this time, if you'll feel safer this way... and don't tug on the feathers, it hurts!"

* * *

><p>"Here they are, humans. Either it's the end of the world or just a harmless alien like me, they hurry to film in on their cell phones", the Doctor said loudly for Benna to hear. Though this time he was flying much slower than every previous time (and was annoyed with such little speed), wind still was whistling in the ears of both. "If you pinch me once again, I'll shake you down there".<p>

Benna wasn't pinching anybody - she was holding on his shirt, just over his shoulders, till white knuckles, and that had been another "check-up" - weakening the grasp and restoring it.

"What did I tell you?.." Now they were much closer to the ground - every person and every street detail was seen, but it was still creepy. "You little scaredy cat..."

Finally they landed on the backyard of Coal Hill School and immediately darted into the mentioned place. Benna climbed onto that very box, while the Doctor began scanning the room with his sonic.

"Hmmm... Background radiation?.. And remains of the time crack. Clocks chiming must've been the echo..."

And the Doctor began musing to himself, speaking in long words - so long and not understandable that Benna's head began nodding and eyelids went heavy. Perhaps she would've stayed alert if it were not for her feet which went cotton after travelling without using them.

"...and this means another check-up is to be done, but how am I going to... BENNA!"

It seemed to her that she had been sitting on the box a second ago when she found herself supine on the floor.

"Welcome back to the real world", the Doctor grinned lop-sidedly and gave her two strong slaps on the cheeks.

"Doctor?"

"You were ticking and tocking like a broken alarm clock, and..."

But he didn't go on because it occurred to them both that it wasn't quiet on the outside anymore. And the warning "GO AWAY HUMANS" wouldn't work here for sure.

"Suppose it was some sort of trance, as if you became a walking radio..." Another surprised blink from Benna. "Radio is a thing which can make your voice sound from distance..."

But here radio wasn't needed. It was seen from the small window that there already was a crowd out there. Chanting, like football fans. What phrase... No. No, please no. But it was true. "Show us the angel! Show us the angel!"

"What do they take me for? Deja vu much?" the Doctor muttered. "Okay. They want an angel, I'll show them an angel. Try not to throw up on me, Benna".

"Blergh!"

The last was making sure that the mentioned thing wouldn't take place.


End file.
